Multiple sources of pollution suspected behind Sg Damansara fish deaths: DoE

SHAH ALAM – The incident that saw thousands of fish turning up dead along Sg Damansara near Shah Alam is believed to have been caused by multiple sources, said the Selangor Environment Department (DoE).

Its director, Nor Aziah Jaafar, said DoE personnel had inspected 13 sewage plants within a 7km radius from the location where the fish carcasses were found.

Aziah said preliminary investigations revealed that the cause was the high volume of organic pollutants from sewage treatment plants (STPs) along the river and nonpoint source (NPS) pollution caused by rainfall.

“Sewage discharge from STPs contain ammoniacal nitrogen and suspended solids, which can be detrimental to aquatic life if the treatment fails to comply with DoE discharge standards,” she told The Vibes yesterday.

“Nonpoint sources include run-off from construction sites, agriculture, commercial areas, residential and urban areas.”

Aziah added that it is a difficult task to pinpoint a specific pollution source for the Sg Damansara or Sg Kayu Ara area, which is deemed an “urban system”.

Samples taken by the DoE have been submitted to the Chemistry Department for analysis and the results are expected to be known in a fortnight.

“At this stage, it is premature to make any conclusion,” she said.

Meanwhile, it is learnt that the incident has not impacted Air Selangor’s water treatment plant as it does not draw water from that river for public use.

A check by The Vibes at several locations along the river near the Management and Science University (MSU) campus in Section 13, Shah Alam and near the area’s Carlsberg brewery yesterday and found that the dead fish have been removed.

It is believed that the dead fish were removed by the Shah Alam City Council yesterday.

However, observations at TTDI Jaya found that there were still carcasses along the riverbank.

A foul stench from the rotting fish also hung in the air, engulfing nearby areas in a pungent smell.

On Wednesday, images of thousands of dead fish floating in Sg Damansara had gone viral on Twitter, shocking local residents and netizens.

Local resident Visithra Manikam, who tweeted several photographs, said she was told that the species of freshwater fish affected were the common pleco (ikan bandaraya) and tilapia. – The Vibes, June 26, 2021